Butterfly and Moth Conservation Efforts in the UK and Singapore

Hola!

I will be introducing some conservation efforts by various groups in the United Kingdom and how we can learn and adapt from them.

There are 2500 recorded species of moths and over 70 species of butterflies in Britain. Studies have shown that there is a 28% decrease in overall numbers of moths since 1968. (Kinver, Mark)

This majestic white ermine moth population has 

decreased by 70% since 1968.

[Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/The_road_of_the_white_ermine_moth.jpg]

Since then, many organisations such as Butterfly Conservation started Moth Count programmes.

Butterfly Conservation website, working towards 

conserving UK's butterfly and moth species

[Source: http://www.mothscount.org/]

This programme has been very successful, thanks to the enthusiastic support of the moth recording community and the citizens. Thousands of people have taken part in 'citizen science' survey in events such as Moth Night and Garden Moth Count, and the National Moth Recording Scheme amasses 16 million moth records. Through active volunteerism, high level of publicity was reached via the national television, radio, newspapers and magazines, thus raising awareness of the need for butterfly and moth conservation. 

Does Singapore has a citizen science programme for butterflies and moths?

Were you wondering if Singapore has such a programme? NParks (National Parks Board) just started their brand new citizen science programme called NParks Butterfly Count! It starts today (5th September 2015) to 13th September 2015. We can all play our part as a citizen scientist by submitting photos of butterflies through SGBioAtlas mobile application. The application can be downloaded at https://www.nparks.gov.sg/mobile-applications. 

I think that this is a great initiative by NParks. Given Singaporeans' love for their smart phones, applications and photo-taking, it allows them to participate actively in citizen research in a simple and effective way. I hope that Singaporeans will become increasingly aware of such initiatives and realise that their country has biodiversity worth conserving and protecting. Citizen awareness will lead to long-lasting projects such as the Moth Count in the UK and achieve the much-needed public attention to raise awareness of a larger group of people. 

Make sure to check out the application and participate in butterfly watch!

References

Kinver, Mark. UK Moth Numbers Crash, 40-Year Studies Shows, British Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21246322 [online] [Accessed 4th Sep. 2015]